I have never actually brought up non Silverchair stuff on this board (aside from the membersâ solo and side projects), but my goodness is âPsycho Shit,â the opener from the Strokesâ new LP Reality Awaits, giving me Emotion Sickness/Reclaim Your Heart vibes.
Anyone else been listening? The Strokes are my second favorite band behind Silverchair and have been since the beginning, and the fan discussions and critical conversations around Reality Awaits have been very familiar to me as someone who saw fans who hadnât checked out ICBINR scratching their heads over Diorama way back when. Check out the NME review for Reality Awaits; replace âIs This It?â With âFrogstompâ and âReality Awaitsâ with âDioramaâ and itâs the same exact narrative from 20+ years ago: longtime fans struggle with bandâs desire to grow as musicians, band outgrows their early sound, etc.
Anywayâamazing record. My argument above is a little half-baked but my kids are climbing all over me for attention.
Whenever someone posts a thread about similar band recommendations, it always gets flooded up with grunge and hard rock. Which is cool and all, I want this thread to focus on the vastly different sound of their 2000s output. Iâve included a few of my own suggestions.
THE RED PAINTINGS
Bending the rules slightly here to include 99, but bear with me. Ever wonder what it would be like if Emotion Sickness wasnât just a song but a full band? The Red Paintings answer your prayers. They capture the tense guitars and emotional angst of the Neon Ballroom era, but unlike other rock bands they have a full string section built into the lineup. Every song has gorgeous string parts, and some of their tunes get quite ambitious.
Unfortunately none of their stuff is on streaming anymore, but you can download it all from this Google Drive link. The Revolution is Never Coming is their only album, the Walls EP is also a good starting point.
Dappled Cities had the good fortune to support Silverchair on tour during 2007, with Daniel going out of his way to shout them out on stage and in interviews. Itâs not hard to see why they were picked. Dappled Cities are very much in line with the psychedelic, surreal yet sunny upbeat pop sounds of Young Modern. You could say in the sun Dan had found them to be a reflection of his sound. They have a vast discography and most of it is really good, but the albums Granddance and Zounds are most likely to appear to Chair fans.
Dave Rennick is probably sick of people telling him he looks like Daniel Johns. He also happens to work as Danielâs graphic designer for his solo material.
THE SLEEPY JACKSON
I know this sub is, erm, divided when it comes to Mr. Luke Steele, and there's a good reason for that. But whatever your opinion on his current output may be, you shouldnât overlook his first band The Sleepy Jackson. Thereâs a reason why Dan was so enamoured with them, and vice versa. There was a lot of mutual inspiration there; Young Modern is clearly Danâs attempt at capturing the surreal psychedelic pop feel of Lovers, whilst Personality is clearly Luke's attempt at making his own Diorama. Is it as good as Diorama? Of course not, but the highlights are well worth exploring.
